Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

In all countries, no matter their income, there are wide disparities in the health status of different population groups. According to the Key Health Inequalities in Canada report, socio-economic contexts were associated with different health outcomes, showing significant health inequalities for those with lower socioeconomic status, Indigenous peoples, sexual and ethnic minorities, and immigrants. This is the case of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which have a disproportionate burden on people who are most disadvantaged. In 2020, there were 1,639 new persons diagnosed with HIV, with higher proportions in males, people who inject drugs and people from the Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec provinces. Related to TB, there were 1,772 cases of active TB reported in Canada in 2020, with higher proportions among foreign-born individuals and Indigenous Peoples. This study aims to identify the missed opportunities and health inequalities in the access to testing, treatment, and linkage to care in HIV and TB cases through Manitoba regions using data already collected from the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository. With this study, we will be able to address the burden of the diseases, detection, prevention, and treatment, as well as to investigate health inequalities to understand those barriers to achieving goals and targets in HIV and TB programs which disproportionately impact underserved populations. Although public health organizations understand the need for "health equity", there are few up-to-date examples of how to use data to look for health inequalities, signaling where inequities can be reduced. Therefore, it is necessary to describe the relevance of measuring and monitoring health inequalities and to illustrate their applicability using data routinely collected to help investigate socioeconomic inequalities and the impact of specific interventions implemented by governments and policymakers.